Thursday, January 14, 2010

Solar Viewing Safety

There are 2 basic safe ways to view the sun (it does not matter if it is partially eclipsed or not).

1) Projection method.

This involves using some kind of lens to project an image of the sun onto another surface.The simplest "lens" is just a pinhole. You can easilly make a pinhole in a piece of cardboard, or even just use your fingers!

2) Filter method

You will need filter especially made for viewing the sun.
You can get these in Israel or online. E.g.

If you want, you can use only two pieces of cardboard--one piece colored white to project on to, and the other with a pinhole. Hold up the pinhole as far from the screen as you can. Remember, the farther you are from the screen, the bigger your image.

Getting even more basic, you can use your own hands. Just hold up both hands with your fingers overlapping at right angles. The holes between your fingers make pinholes.

If you have some shade trees in your location, try looking at the images of the sun coming through the holes formed by the leaves. A piece of white posterboard is all you may need to have a great viewing session!

Or if you have a simple pair of binoculars you can these instructions from NASA: